CHARACTERS

Heathcliff - An orphan brought to live at Wuthering Heights by Mr. Earnshaw, Heathcliff

falls into unbreakable love with Mr. Earnshaw’s daughter Catherine. After Mr. Earnshaw
death, his son Hindley abuses Heathcliff and treats him as a servant. Catherine marries Edgar
Linton instead of Heathcliff. Heathcliff’s humiliation and misery prompt him to spend most of
the rest of his life seeking revenge on Hindley, his beloved Catherine, and their respective
children (Hareton and young Catherine). A powerful, fierce, and often cruel man, Heathcliff
acquires a fortune and uses his extraordinary powers of will to acquire both Wuthering
Heights and Thrushcross Grange, the estate of Edgar Linton.
Catherine - The daughter of Mr. Earnshaw, Catherine falls powerfully in love with
Heathcliff. Catherine loves Heathcliff so intensely that she claims they are the same person.
However, her desire for social advancement motivates her to marry Edgar Linton instead.
Catherine is free-spirited, beautiful, spoiled, and often arrogant. She is given to fits of temper,
and she is torn between her wild passion for Heathcliff and her social ambition. She brings
misery to both of the men who love her.
Edgar Linton - Well-bred but rather spoiled as a boy, Edgar Linton grows into a tender,
constant, but cowardly man. He is almost the ideal gentleman: Catherine accurately describes
him as “handsome,” “pleasant to be with,” “cheerful,” and “rich.” However, this full
assortment of gentlemanly characteristics, along with his civilized virtues, proves useless in
Edgar’s clashes with his foil, Heathcliff, who gains power over his wife, sister, and daughter.
Nelly Dean - Nelly Dean (known formally as Ellen Dean) serves as the chief narrator of
Wuthering Heights. A sensible, intelligent, and compassionate woman, she grew up
essentially alongside Hindley and Catherine Earnshaw and is deeply involved in the story she
tells. She has strong feelings for the characters in her story, and these feelings complicate her
narration.
Lockwood - Lockwood’s narration forms a frame around Nelly’s; he serves as an
intermediary between Nelly and the reader. A somewhat vain and presumptuous gentleman,
he deals very clumsily with the inhabitants of Wuthering Heights. Lockwood comes from a
more domesticated region of England, and he finds himself at a loss when he witnesses the
strange household’s disregard for the social conventions that have always structured his
world. As a narrator, his vanity and unfamiliarity with the story occasionally lead him to
misunderstand events.
Young Catherine - refers to the daughter of Edgar Linton and the first Catherine as “young
Catherine.” The first Catherine begins her life as Catherine Earnshaw and ends it as Catherine
Linton; her daughter begins as Catherine Linton and, assuming that she marries Hareton after
the end of the story, goes on to become Catherine Earnshaw. The mother and the daughter
share not only a name, but also a tendency toward headstrong behavior, impetuousness, and
occasional arrogance. However, Edgar’s influence seems to have tempered young Catherine’s
character, and she is a gentler and more compassionate creature than her mother.
Hareton Earnshaw - The son of Hindley and Frances Earnshaw, Hareton is Catherine’s
nephew. After Hindley’s death, Heathcliff assumes custody of Hareton, and raises him as an
uneducated field worker, just as Hindley had done to Heathcliff himself. Thus Heathcliff uses
Hareton to seek revenge on Hindley. Hareton is easily humiliated, but shows a good heart and
a deep desire to improve himself. At the end of the novel, he marries young Catherine.
Linton Heathcliff - Heathcliff’s son by Isabella. Weak, demanding, and constantly ill,
Linton is raised in London by his mother and does not meet his father until he is thirteen years
old, when he goes to live with him after his mother’s death. Heathcliff despises Linton, treats
him contemptuously, and, by forcing him to marry the young Catherine, uses him to cement
his control over Thrushcross Grange after Edgar Linton’s death. Linton himself dies not long
after this marriage.
Hindley Earnshaw - Catherine’s brother, and Mr. Earnshaw’s son. Hindley resents it when
Heathcliff is brought to live at Wuthering Heights. After his father dies and he inherits the
estate, Hindley begins to abuse the young Heathcliff, terminating his education and forcing
him to work in the fields. When Hindley’s wife Frances dies shortly after giving birth to their
son Hareton, he lapses into alcoholism and dissipation.
Isabella Linton - Edgar Linton’s sister, who falls in love with Heathcliff and marries him.
She sees Heathcliff as a romantic figure, like a character in a novel. Ultimately, she ruins her
life by falling in love with him. He never returns her feelings and treats her as a mere tool in
his quest for revenge on the Linton family.
Mr. Earnshaw - Catherine and Hindley’s father. Mr. Earnshaw adopts Heathcliff and brings
him to live at Wuthering Heights. Mr. Earnshaw prefers Heathcliff to Hindley but
nevertheless bequeaths Wuthering Heights to Hindley when he dies.
Mrs. Earnshaw - Catherine and Hindley’s mother, who neither likes nor trusts the orphan
Heathcliff when he is brought to live at her house. She dies shortly after Heathcliff’s arrival at
Wuthering Heights.
Joseph - A long-winded, fanatically religious, elderly servant at Wuthering Heights.
Joseph is strange, stubborn, and unkind, and he speaks with a thick Yorkshire accent.
Frances Earnshaw - Hindley’s simpering, silly wife, who treats Heathcliff cruelly. She dies
shortly after giving birth to Hareton.
Mr. Linton - Edgar and Isabella’s father and the proprietor of Thrushcross Grange when
Heathcliff and Catherine are children. An established member of the gentry, he raises his son
and daughter to be well-mannered young people.
Mrs. Linton - Mr. Linton’s somewhat snobbish wife, who does not like Heathcliff to be
allowed near her children, Edgar and Isabella. She teaches Catherine to act like a gentle-
woman, thereby instilling her with social ambitions.
Zillah - The housekeeper at Wuthering Heights during the latter stages of the narrative.
Mr. Green - Edgar Linton’s lawyer, who arrives too late to hear Edgar’s final instruction to
change his will, which would have prevented Heathcliff from obtaining control over
Thrushcross Grange.